Weekly Tech Update #425 - Windows on ARM and HP Security

Wednesday, 21 February 2018 06:28
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

We have just posted up Episode #425 of Weekly Tech Update! In this episode we will be discussing Microsoft telling us why Windows on ARM sucks, we have some Galaxy S9 goodness and finally, we talk security solutions with HP. We have those stories and more...

HPs Commercial PC Security Strategy

Wednesday, 21 February 2018 06:19
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

It probably doesn't come as a surprise that HP is big in the printer game and have taken some extreme security measures to protect the corporate print environment. What may surprise to you is how big they are in the PC market as well. According to their numbers, they are #1 in Commercial PC by 7 points and #1 in Consumer PC by 9 points. Things are looking up and in the past few years their Envy line has really taken off.

HP Tackles Print Security

Wednesday, 21 February 2018 06:11
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

In a world that contains billions of connected devices, security breaches are as common as Tim Hortons up here in Canada (Starbucks for you USA readers). As we've discussed many times on WeeklyTechUpdate, in this day and age you should probably assume that any personal data you enter online will be viewed by someone that isn't authorized at some point due to a security breach. The thing is, it shouldn't be this way.

Google Shares Microsoft Edge Exploit

Tuesday, 20 February 2018 04:18
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

Google and Microsoft have an arrangement. When one company finds a security issue in any product (theirs or each others), they have 90 days to fix the issue before it is released to the public. Now, I don't know why they are ever released to the public - unless it's to broadcast the flaw so the company takes greater strides to fix it. The fact is that Google has given Microsoft a bit of extra time to fix the flaw in Edge, but like any good relationship with a browser, Microsoft says "It's Complicated". It will be fixed in under a month though - maybe. Until then, now that the flaw is public, it could be a good idea to cease using Edge for a bit.

According to the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), the problem turned out to be more complex than initially believed, due to which it was given an additional 14-day grace period by Google. Although the company missed this deadline in its February Patch Tuesday too - which forced Google to make the flaw public - Microsoft is confident that it will resolve the issue by March 13, aligning the shipment of the fix with the Patch Tuesday in March.

Windows 10 on ARM is Half-Baked

Tuesday, 20 February 2018 04:04
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

Windows 10 for ARM was announced a while back and while it sounds great to have Windows on a device that can easily get all day battery life, there are some limitations - other than the slower processor performance. Microsoft has released the entire list and there are some areas of concern. While it's obvious that x64 applications aren't supported, things like the "Windows Experience, Anti-Cheat for games, OpenGL 1.1 or newer and more is an issue that will probably affect how your PC works and how you use it. While it'a a great idea, it seems like it's still not ready for prime-time.

Apps that assume that all ARM-based devices are running a mobile version of Windows may not work correctly. Some apps that have been coded for Windows Phone won’t work correctly and could appear in the wrong orientation or have UI layout problems. This won’t be a huge amount of apps, though.

The fact is that the P1 can hold its own in the market and do very well. It offers fantastic week-long battery life, a bright and clear display, touch interface, buttons as a backup, a comfortable band, enough sensors to keep most people happy and to top it off, it's water-resistant to 50M.

Facebook lost 2.8 million U.S. users under 25 in 2017

Friday, 16 February 2018 00:00
Written by Jason

Earlier in the week we posted up a story about how Facebook was seeing growth in their 55+ demographics, which unsurprisingly has started to drive the under 25 users away and saw 2.8 million of those users leave the platform in 2017 and it doesn't look like 2018 will be any better. Basically what this comes down to is that as more older people start using a platform (like your grandparents for example) the younger users find somewhere else to go so that Grandma isn't commenting on the same pictures as their friends.

Now the significance of this for Facebook is that advertisers want under 25 users as they've got lots of disposable income and are much more likely to buy their products online. This is actually a big deal for Facebook as if this trend continues they risk becoming the social media site for older people instead of the "hip" social network that they have marketed themselves as being.

Facebook is losing young users even quicker than expected, according to new estimates by eMarketer.

The digital measurement firm predicted last year that Facebook would see a 3.4 percent drop in 12- to 17-year-old users in the U.S. in 2017, the first time it had predicted a drop in usage for any age group on Facebook.

The reality: The number of U.S. Facebook users in the 12- to 17-year-old demographic declined by 9.9 percent in 2017, eMarketer found, or about 1.4 million total users. That’s almost three times the decline expected. There were roughly 12.1 million U.S. Facebook users in the 12- to 17-year-old demographic by the end of the year.

Linner NC50 Active Noise Canceling Bluetooth Earphones

Thursday, 15 February 2018 04:14
Last Updated on Thursday, 15 February 2018 04:57
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

As for audio quality, the NC50 exceeded my expectations. The bass is nice and heavy when it needs to be without being muddy and thick. The mid-range is very balanced for a $70 set of earphones - let alone noise-cancelling earphones. The treble isn’t sharp and balances very nicely as well. Even for $139, they sound great. For half that, they are solid gold.

Facebook seeing growth in 55+ demographics

Thursday, 15 February 2018 00:00
Written by Jason

Good news for Facebook that they're seeing growth in some demographics, unfortunately for Facebook is that it's in the 55+ demographic which isn't what online advertisers get excited about. Thanks to the surge, the 55+ demographic is now the 2nd biggest on Facebook which is making the younger demographics jump to other platforms like Snapchat. The Gaurdian has more on this story.

It’s official: Facebook is for old(er) people. Teens and young adults are ditching Mark Zuckerberg’s social network as popularity among the over-55s surges, according to a report.

In 2018, 2.2 million 12- to 17-year-olds and 4.5 million 18- to 24-year-olds will regularly use Facebook in the UK, 700,000 fewer than in 2017, as younger users defect to services such as Snapchat, according to eMarketer.

A surge in older users means over-55s will become the second-biggest demographic of Facebook users this year.

Cryptocurrency LoopX disappears

Thursday, 15 February 2018 00:00
Written by Jason

Ahh yes, yet another cryptocurrency story.

Not surprisingly, this is another one of the bad side of the news with a new startup called LoopX disappearing after raising $4.5 million in it's initial coin offering. This isn't the first time that cryptocurrency buyers have been scammed and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's not the last.

Another day, another exit scam: an emerging cryptocurrency startup more commonly known as LoopX has suddenly vanished out of thin air along with millions worth of its investors’ savings.

The sketchy investment platform, which promised to earn backers’ money with its proprietary trading algorithm, has abruptly gone dark after raising $4.5 million in a series of initial coin offerings (ICO). The company has since also pulled its website and deleted its social media fingerprint, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram accounts.